Ozark County’s 13 spring high school sports teams prepare for district play

For the athletes on Ozark County’s 13 high school spring sports teams, which include baseball, softball, track and field and golf teams at Bakersfield, Dora and Gainesville, and a golf team from Lutie High School, district competitions are at the top of their minds as games are slated to begin next week. 

Softball district competitions, May 3-7

The Missouri district softball competitions will be held Friday, May 3 through Tuesday, May 7 at various locations across the state. 

The Gainesville Lady Bulldogs (5-12) softball team is part of the class 2 district 4 competitors, meaning they will not face their Ozark County counterparts from Bakersfield or Dora. Instead, their district is comprised of teams from Alton (10-7), Ava (12-6), Liberty/Mountain View (4-6), Mountain Grove (9-9), Seymour (7-5), Thayer (9-5) and Willow Springs (17-4). District brackets have not been released yet, but they will be held at Mountain Grove High School this year, located at 420 N. Main Street in that town. 

The Bakersfield Lady Lions softball team (7-9) and the Dora Lady Falcons softball team (1-8) are both among the class 1 district 4 competitors, along with Cabool (3-11), Fordland (5-10), Koshkonong (1-8), Mansfield (3-10), Plato (16-6) and Summersville (7-8). Mansfield will host district play this year for this group at its high school, located at 315 Ohio in Mansfield. 

Track and field districts, May 4

High school track and field competitors across the state will compete in districts on Saturday, May 4. Gainesville High School’s track team, which earned the title of back-to-back conference champs this year, is in the class 2 district 5 tournament bracket with Alton, Blue Eye, Cabool, Conway, Fordland, Hartville, Licking, Mansfield, New Covenant Academy, Plato, Sparta, Spokane and Van Buren. Districts will be held at Cuba High School this year located at 1 Wildcat Pride Drive in Cuba. 

Bakersfield and Dora’s track teams are in class 1 district 1 with fellow athletes from Bell City, Couch, Crossroads College Prep, Delta, Hayti, Newburg, Norwood, Oran Richland/Essex, Scott County, St. Paul Lutheran/Farmington, Fulton, Valley, Viburnu and Zalma high schools. Their district meet will be held at Notre Dame High School, 265 Notre Dame Drive in Cape Girardeau. 

Golf districts, May 6

High school golf teams will compete in district play on Monday, May 6. All four of Ozark County’s golf teams, from Gainesville, Bakersfield, Dora and Lutie, are in the class 1 district 1 district bracket. Other high schools in the district are from Alton, Ash Grove, Butler, Cole Camp, Green Ridge, Greenwood, Liberty/Mountain View, Marionville, Purdy, Seymour, Sparta, Stockton, Stover and Verona. The district meet will be hosted by Greenwood High School and held at the Horton Smith Golf Club, 901 S. National Avenue in Springfield. 

Baseball districts, May 13-15

Ozark County’s high school baseball teams will be the last sports teams to compete in districts, with play slated for Monday, May 13 through Wednesday, May 15. 

The Bakersfield Lions (11-2) and Gainesville Bulldogs (8-7) are in the class 2 district 10 bracket. They’ll face competing high school teams from Cabool (8-7), Chadwick (0-7), Fordland (10-6), Mansfield (16-2) and Summersville (9-6). The district games will be hosted by Mansfield at their baseball fields, located at 315 W. Ohio Street in that city.

The Dora Falcons (3-9) are hosting districts this year for the class 1 district 4 bracket. The district also includes Couch (1-4), Eminence (0-9), Koshkonong (4-6) and Norwood (6-910) high school teams.